Germany news: Ships to head to Med for possible Hormuz role

The president of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA), Rainer Dulger, has lambasted the coalition government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, calling it worse than the three-party coalition government that preceded it.

"It's been a long time since I last witnessed so much disappointment among employers in the work of a German government," Dulger told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper.

"This disappointment is deep and keeps growing," he added.

Not for the first time, he warned that employers were threatening to move their operations abroad, complaining that it is no longer profitable to work in Germany.

"Germany's unique levels of social security contributions, massive bureaucracy and expensive energy are seriously weakening the competitiveness of our country," Dulger told the newspaper, adding that the coalition's inability to bring about major reforms was "highly problematic."

A new report from Der Spiegel news magazine has revealed that more top figures from the German Bundestag have been compromised on the Signal messaging app, following reports that parliamentary speaker Julia Klöckner had been hacked.

The two government ministers named in the Spiegel report were Education Minister Karien Prien (CDU) and Construction Minister Verena Hubertz (SPD).

The offices of both ministers declined Spiegel's request for comment, citing security issues. 

It is unclear what hackers gained access to, but according to reports, the Cabinet ministers have a Signal group chat that includes Chancellor Merz, although his device appeared to be uncompromised.

Signal has been favored as a means of communication due to its high levels of encryption and security. However, there has been an alleged phishing campaign that seeks to gain access to accounts by tricking users rather than hacking the app itself.

Federal Public Prosecutor Jens Rommel has been investigating the campaign since February as a suspected case of espionage.

CDU lawmaker Marc Henrichmann, the chair of the Parliamentary Control Panel in the Bundestag, responsible for overseeing the intelligence services, said on Friday that Russia was behind the campaign.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told the Rheinische Post newspaper that, "to save time," German naval ships will be deployed to the Mediterranean Sea so that they can join an international mission to secure shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, when the time comes.

"A deployment in the [Strait of Hormuz] is only possible when we have a mandate from the German Bundestag," he told the newspaper.

"To save time, we have decided to send some of the units to the Mediterranean ahead of schedule so as not to lose any time once we have the mandate."

He remarked that the government had followed a similar course of action ahead of the EU's Aspides mission in the Red Sea that began in February 2024 as a response to Houthi attacks on shipping.

"That substantially accelerated the beginning of the deployment," Pistorius said.

Without signalling when the deployment would take place, he said a minesweeper and support ship would be sent, with deployments in other areas being reduced, in agreement with partners.

Iran effectively blocked all traffic passing through the narrow Strait of Hormuz in response to attacks by the US and Israel that began on February 28. Despite a ceasefire, Iran has kept the key waterway due to a US blockade of Iranian ports.

Around a fifth of the world's oil and gas passes through the strait and its almost two-month closure has had major impacts on economies worldwide.

Germany, like other NATO allies, drew the ire of US President Donald Trump by refusing to join the war, but pledged to help secure shipping through the strait with minesweeping and reconnaissance support.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has submitted thousands of official questions in state parliaments — a right of any elected party.

But critics argue that their focus is meant to pressure political opponents.

Read more about how the AfD may be gaming parliamentary questions.

Guten Morgen and thank you for joining us today.

Germany, like everywhere now, is reeling from the impacts of the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The German government has cut its own economic growth forecasts in half, down to 0.5%, as soaring energy prices torpedo hopes of a recovery from Germany's economic malaise.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz has also cast doubt on Germany's environmental credentials, saying climate protections must not hold back growth.

Meanwhile, for some in Germany, the top story remains the fate of Timmy the stranded whale, with rescue efforts continuing weeks after experts said there was no hope left for the maritime mammal.